Our mother who grinds ragi at home is far more superior to our father who rules this country - so goes a proverb in Kannada.

Ragi, known the world over as Finger millet (Eleusine coracana), is an annual plant, widely grown as a cereal in the arid areas of Africa and Asia. Ragi was introduced in India thousands of years ago. Ragi is a rain-fed crop grown in subsistence level with traditional wisdom embedded in choosing the variety that is apt to the farmer. This crop has an old history of cultivation, and its cultivation in Karnataka dates back to 1800 BC.       
    
Maybe its history is what urged Somashekar, a small farmer of Shivahalli in Mandya District, to go back to his roots. Now he is conversant with each and every variety of ragi like hasiru, dodda, jeenu muthige, unde, konakombina ragi and so on.

Somashekar's interest in traditional varieties was a result of the inspiration he received from Bore Gowda, a fellow farmer of the same village, who has grown different varieties of paddy. The Kamadhenu Naisargika Krushi Mathu Gramina Abivruddi Samasthe, that was formed with a few like-minded farmers, has been working towards creating awareness in farmers about sustainable agriculture. This group has encouraged and brought about a change in many farmers like Somasekhar. Bore Gowda's success with traditional paddy egged them on to hunt for traditional ragi varieties.

Somashekar and his friends set out on their search for traditional ragi varieties in the local area. They approached many farmers and finally succeeded in collecting only three varieties. Most farmers were not even aware of traditional varieties. Later, Kamadhenu approached Sahaja Samruddha, the organic farmers’ association of Karnataka, for traditional ragi varieties. Sahaja Samruddha collected irrigated ragi varieties from various sources and handed them over to Somashekar.

Traditional varieties of ragi that were collected were first grown in the nursery and carefully transplanted in the main field. All the 29 varieties were sown on a two-acre land. Each variety was evenly spaced in straight rows and many farmers were amazed to find the crops growing well even without any chemical inputs. Somashekar's main motive behind going organic was that it was low on investment and good for health.

Among Somashekar's priced collection is Iyyana ragi, a variety which had vanished from the region and Somasekhar feels proud to have brought it back to the village. Then there is dodda ragi, local to Kollegal forest villages, which is sown on the edge of the field as the bitter taste of its straw keeps wild animals away.

Then there is majjige ragi and the mudde (ragi balls) prepared from this variety is mixed with buttermilk and consumed to maintain ideal body temperature. Idli and dosa prepared from this variety are also very delicious.
Konakombina ragi, local to Chitradurga and Tumkur districts, has long ears in the shape of buffalo horns. This is a rare variety and rotis prepared from this variety are very tasty. Bili ragi is a summer crop and highly suited to tank irrigation. The ear heads are cream in colour and are very attractive. Kempu thene ragi has reddish brown ear heads during the flowering stage and the entire field looks as if it is on fire. The other varieties on the plot are kari ragi, unde ragi, nati ragi, gutte ragi, jenu bunduga, gutte kelagina ragi, sanna kaddi ragi, picchakaddi ragi, yadaga ragi, kolimote ragi, jeenu mude ragi, pattana ragi, karibunduga ragi and so on.

Farmer scientists

When the crop reached the grain formation stage, Kamadhenu organised the Field Day and invited farmers from all the neighbouring villages to share their knowledge, experiences and practices. Based on their own criteria and preferences, farmers selected the best variety of ragi and hasiru bunduga ragi was their unanimous choice.
Hasiru bunduga is a unique variety that has uniform maturity, open and long ear heads. This variety is highly resistant to pests and neck blast disease and also has a good yielding quality of fodder and grain. Dodda ragi, konakombina ragi, pichakaddi ragi followed hasiru bunduga. Many farmers who visited the field left a request list for seeds.

M H Manjunath, a young scientist, who helped in the characterisation of ragi varieties says, "Farmers in every part of the country have a deep knowledge of their native varieties and this has enabled them to accrue diversity within crop varieties. However, the genetic diversity of our traditional varieties has been totally ignored and modern agricultural programmes have not taken into account this wealth of information. A peep into our traditional varieties can suggest so many ways to resist pests and drought".

Witnessing the performance of traditional ragi varieties, Dr Rajanna, director, Department of Agriculture, says, "I was amazed to see the performance of traditional varieties. The Department of Agriculture will take measures to popularise these varieties in all the ragi growing areas of our State".

Dr Shivaraju, joint director of agriculture, impressed with this work, has decided to make a documentary film on the diversity of ragi and also design a demonstration of rainfed ragi varieties for the coming season.
Kamadhenu has worked towards educating people about the high nutritional value of ragi. The members of Kamadhenu opine that ragi is superior to rice and wheat. Apart from being rich in proteins, the grain is high in fibre and digests slowly.

Somashekar's concern for the conservation of biodiversity has in fact got many farmers interested in traditional varieties. The two-acre plot in the outskirts of his village has grown into one of the largest experimental restoration plots, drawing visitors from villages near and far. His experiment has enthralled scientists and officials alike, who have applauded his venture. 

Those interested can contact: Sri Kamdhenu Samsthe, Mandya: 9242459437; Sahaja Samrudha, Bangalore: 080-22715744, 9880862058.